Bithumb Pushes IPO Timeline to 2028 as Listing Process Stretches Further

• Bithumb now expects its long-delayed IPO to take place in or after 2028.
• The exchange says it is still focused on accounting policy upgrades, internal controls and internal verification before moving ahead.

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Bithumb public listing plans have slipped again, with the South Korean crypto exchange now indicating that an IPO is unlikely before 2028.

The update came at the company’s annual shareholders meeting on Tuesday, where Chief Financial Officer Jeong Sang-gyun said Bithumb remains in the preparatory stage. The emphasis, he said, is still on strengthening accounting policies, tightening internal controls and carrying out deeper internal verification. That is the language of a company still getting itself ready, not one close to ringing the bell.

Another delay in a listing process that keeps moving

Bithumb IPO ambition has been around for more than two years, but the timeline has continued to drift. The latest signal makes that explicit. According to local reporting, the exchange has signed an IPO advisory agreement with Samjong KPMG through the end of 2027, while a company official said the actual listing will highly likely take place only after 2028.

That matters because it suggests the remaining work is not minor. Companies usually do not extend advisory arrangements that far out unless the listing process still needs structural preparation. In the Bithumb case, the repeated focus on controls and accounting standards points to the kind of groundwork public market investors, regulators, and auditors all expect before a flotation.

South Korea’s exchange market stays private a little longer

For the Korean crypto market, the delay keeps one of its largest exchanges off public markets for the time being. That leaves Bithumb in a familiar position, still important, still visible, but not yet converted into a listed company despite years of discussion.

There is also a broader read-through here. Crypto exchanges may be more established than they were a few cycles ago, but turning that scale into public-market readiness remains harder than many expected. Governance, reporting discipline and internal systems are still decisive.

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